Mount Union rolls to 2002 title

SALEM — Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres doesn’t
want to call it a dynasty. After watching them earn their seventh
championship in 10 seasons, one could describe the Purple Raiders
with other “d” words.

Mount Union was determined, dominant and got a record-smashing
day from Dan Pugh, who carried 49 times for 253 yards and four
touchdowns as the Purple Raiders blazed past Trinity (Texas) 48-7
on a windy day at Salem Stadium.

Pugh, the Gagliardi Trophy winner and D3football.com first-team
all-American, scored a touchdown in each quarter and became
Division III’s single-season all-purpose yardage leader with
3,192 and passed Barry Sanders for the single-season, all-divisions
touchdown record, with 41.

“That’s pretty slick,” said a smiling Pugh
post-game. “Growing up watching Barry, you never think your
name would be in the same sentence as his, or any record book
really.”

For the past two seasons, Pugh played second fiddle to Chuck Moore,
a two-time Stagg Bowl MVP and the 2001 Gagliardi trophy winner. But
Saturday was all his.

Pugh, who said he was not tired after the game, got the Purple
Raiders going early on sweeps and draws. Running up the middle was
tough, but Pugh punished Trinity’s would-be tacklers.

“He is not your typical Division III running back, I’ll
tell you that,” said Trinity coach Steve Mohr. “He made
people miss in the open field, he’s got power. He’s the
whole package. You can see why he’s the nation’s best
football player.”

The Tigers, who came into the game 14-0 but were missing suspended
starting quarterback Roy Hampton, stopped the Purple Raiders on its
opening drive. But Dan DesPlaines, starting for the first time, was
intercepted by Justin Burton, setting the Purple Raiders up on the
Trinty 24-yard line.

On third-and-5, Pugh swept around right end and scored from 19
yards out.

Combined, the Tigers and Purple Raiders attempted six passes in the
brief first quarter, but as soon as Mount Union had the 30- to
40-mph winds at their back, quarterback Rob Adamson started
gunning.

Adamson completed 9 of 14 passes for 124 yards and two scores as
the Purple Raiders scored on all three second half possessions for
a 28-0 halftime lead. Adamson connected with Randell Knapp (4
catches, 58 yards) for 16 yards on fourth-and-13. Three plays
later, Adamson found Knapp from nine yards out and a 13-0 lead.

DesPlaines appeared to complete a 30-yard pass to Jason Hunt to get
the Tigers to the Purple Raider 22, but officials ruled that Hunt
pushed off on Mount Union’s All-American cornerback Chris
Kern, and Trinity failed on third-and-20.

Adamson completed a 20-yard pass to Knapp and followed with a
19-yard touchdown strike to Derrick Leach. Pugh dove inside the
pylon for a two-point conversion and a 21-0 lead.

Trinity went three-and-out and Jason Cavell returned Greg
Genung’s punt seven yards to the Trinity 35-yard line with
2:31 left in the half.

Mount Union managed the clock and Pugh gave the Purple Raiders a
28-0 halftime lead with a 2-yard run with 24 seconds left.

DesPlaines connected with B.J. Smith for an 18-yard touchdown pass
with 7:59 left in the third to get Trinity on the board.

Pugh rushed seven consecutive times for 42 yards, then Adamson hit
Nick Sirrianni for a 31-yard gain on fourth-and-8 to set up a
1-yard touchdown run by Pugh.

Down 35-7, Trinity mishandled the kick and Mount Union recovered.
Pugh later scored on a 2-yard run and Mount Union went up 41-7.

“They’ve got a great football team, but we’re
disappointed that we didn’t play better,” said Mohr.
“But that had a lot to do with Mount Union. Our only momentum
was on that third quarter scoring drive, but they killed
that.”

Kehres recalled a bad third period in last year’s Stagg Bowl
and some similar post-halftime performances in this year’s
regular season, so he pushed the Purple Raiders to come out crisp.
Their third period was impressive, and it included a long punt
return touchdown by Kern that was called back.

Adamson closed the scoring with a 55-yard touchdown pass to
Leach.

The game was a swan song for Kern and defensive end Matt Campbell,
who each have NFL prospects. It was also for Adamson, who missed a
few games early in the season and had recently come around.

“He has played his best football over the past four
weeks,” said Kehres. “He’s been throwing the ball
well. He led this team through the playoffs.”

Adamson was 12 of 22 for 222 yards, but recalled wobbly passes in
warm-ups that made him think throwing in the wind would make for a
much tougher day.

“In a wind like that, you had to throw tight spirals,”
he said.

DesPlaines had a tough time getting acclimated, he admitted, to
both the speed of the game and the wind. But nobody from Trinity
thought having Hampton would have made any difference.

“We thought to ourselves,” said Mohr. “It was a
tough day to be a quarterback. I felt for the QBs today.”

“I thought he played well,” said Kern of
DesPlaines.

Mohr said there was no way he could have changed the game plan to
compensate for the wind just a few hours before the game. But
receiver Jehreme Urban was limited to three catches for 19 yards
and Jason Hunt had only two for 35.

The day, and ultimately the weekend, belonged to Pugh. Running
behind George Momirovic, Brent Miller, Justin Coston, Bob Bradley
and Larry Kinnard, Pugh had 28 of his carries and 148 of his yards
in the first half.

After the game, just like the man he had waited behind, he had a
Stagg Bowl MVP award.

“I knew coming into the program that Chuck was the
man,” Pugh said. “It was difficult coming in, having to
be patient.”

Prior to the season, some thought he might not be able to fill
Moore’s shoes.

“You get a lot of people coming up to you saying ‘Chuck
did this, Chuck did that.’ [Looking back at what I’ve
done], it feels great.”

With a third consecutive national championship for Pugh’s
senior class, it should feel great.